Nexus One writeup in Technology Review

Technology Review's writeup of Google Nexus One phone hits all the high-notes. I've had one of these for a month now (we bought one for my wife and got another through Google's developer program) -- it replaced an aging and somewhat slow G1 I bought in 2008 -- and I am absolutely delighted with it. For one thing, it is fast as hell, which is very good for people like me with atrophied attention spans -- seriously, adding a lot of wellie to the CPU really shows off what the Android OS can do when it's matched with a decent processor. I kind of wish the battery would last a little longer (though I recognize that this is the opposite of wishing that the processor ran faster), but still, considering that this is a 1GHz CPU and that the battery lasts three times longer than my G1's did, I can hardly complain.

My next step is to root the phone so that I can do tethering with it -- that is, use it as a 3G modem for my laptop. I'll let you know where I get with that (and do drop by the comments if you have any tips on the subject).

The Nexus One, by contrast, has a one-gigahertz processor--more than 60 percent faster than the processors in the iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, and BlackBerry Bold 9700, according to several benchmarks. In my testing, it took 2.5 seconds, on average, to click from one Wikipedia page to the next using T-Mobile's 3G network--and half that long when using a Wi-Fi connection. You can open applications, zoom in on photos, and search your phone's databases instantly. The faster processor dramatically improves the phone's enjoyability.
The Nexus One also has a beautiful high-resolution screen--800 by 480 pixels crammed into 3.7 diagonal inches for a display that's roughly 250 dots per inch, making even tiny text quite legible. (Apple's new iPad, in comparison, is 1,024 by 768 pixels on a screen that's 9.7 inches, for just 132 dots per inch.) The Nexus's five-megapixel camera can autofocus and takes detailed photos at six centimeters, and it has a surprisingly bright LED flash. The phone also has a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, which means you don't need those bulky adapters to use high-end earbuds.

Review: Nexus One and Android 2.1 (via Memex 1.1)

Previously:

Randall Munroe's Android bug-reports Boing Boing

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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tmattoneill

I am getting very tired of the ‘quirks’ in my iPhone and am looking forward to trying the competition. Although I abhor giving the googlemachine more cash.
- Rindan
  
  I am getting very tired of the ‘quirks’ in my iPhone and am looking forward to trying the competition. Although I abhor giving the googlemachine more cash.
  
  You give the closed over marketed Apple machine but you feel a pang of remorse if you give Google some cash? Srsly?
  
  Any who, it is a pretty rare thing for my WANT impulse to act up. The Nexus One has been dinging on my WANT nerve for a few weeks now. I was waiting to make sure there were no serious issues and that the initial bugs were ironed out, but I am pretty sure I am going to break and get one this weekend.
  
  Hell, I almost want to give them money just as a way of saying “thanks” for building an open phone that kicks ass that exists out of the little closed loop draconian Apple world.
  
  It is going to suck in principle when Google takes over the world and crowns itself God-King… but at the same time, I think in practice it might be kind of nice. Eh, I wish that if my government learned that I have a North Korean’s with white socks, blue hair, and a clown big red clown nose fetish on old oak beds they would offer a good book or DvD to indulge in that fantasy, instead of tossing me in jail.
siliconsunset

via the CyanogenMod wikipedia:

Shortly after the introduction of the HTC Dream mobile phone in September 2008, a method, dubbed “rooting” by the Android community, was discovered by which one could attain privileged control (known as “root access”) within Android’s Linux subsystem.[5] This discovery, combined with the open source nature of the Android operating system, allowed the phone’s stock firmware to be modified and re-installed onto the phone at will. These modifications are unnecessary for certain handsets specifically designated for development, such as the Android Dev Phone and the Nexus One, which include an unlocked bootloader.[6]

So apparently you don’t need to root your phone, which voids the warranty, but can go right ahead and install the CyanogenMod and tether away.
word_virus

@dculberson: The G1 was old hardware when it shipped. HTC had a bunch of legacy processors they wanted to use up.
toyg

On my phone, I only need to type “sudo gainroot”. It’s the Nokia N900. Every self respecting Linux geek should have one.
Egypt Urnash

I had one in my hands the day after the launch conference. Because of its one killer feature: I could buy one in the US without entering into a two-year contract with a phone company. No credit check (I tried to get an iPhone 3G when they came out and AT&T disliked my lack of a credit history), no nothing, just $550 in exchange for a floam.

I will like it even more when Google finishes assimilating Gizmo5, and they release an upgrade to the Google Voice app or something that lets me switch over to VOIP and ditch the “voice minutes” part of my relationship with T-Mobile.
Eris Siva

I just want to agree with crashsystems (#9):
I’ve been using CyanogenMod on my G1 since the first week I got it, even going as far as developing a theme for it. Got the Nexus One last week, and the first thing I did was put CyanogenMod on it.

The wiki entry linked to works fine. I would also suggest browsing the XDA-Developer’s forum for the N1. There are tons of helpful threads and people around. Seems to be home base to most of the developers, and you can get help with anything. There’s guides on how to do pretty much anything on there, including installing the newest ERE27 Over-the-Air update and radio image.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=556

Soon as you get root, it’s easy as pie to tether (which comes standard in CyanogenMod), block ads (with AdFree), and install mods/themes to your heart’s content.

Welcome to the wide world of Android hacking. ^.^
spookypeanut

@Cory: Don’t suppose you have any inside knowledge on when the Nexus One is coming to Vodafone in the UK? I’m desperate to get one!
- siliconsunset
  
  The wiki I linked above, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_devices, says generically “spring 2010″ and “second quarter 2010″. It’s listed as being released for Vodaphone at the same time as it’s released for Verizon in the states. So, if it’s not available for you now it should be available very soon.
Clif Marsiglio

“My next step is to root the phone so that I can do tethering with it”

I thought one of your main arguments against the iPhone was that it wasn’t yours and you couldn’t do anything with it.

Does Google give an official / blessed way to root it? If not, this is just as one would have to do to get to the iPhone (and one that is incredibly simple). If Google does bless this action…actually, that’s pretty cool…
- Anonymous
  
  Yes, there’s an option to unlock the boot loader.
  details here:
  http://android.modaco.com/content/google-nexus-one-nexusone-modaco-com/299078/how-to-unlock-the-bootloader-on-your-nexus-one/
  
  It does mean your warranty is still invalidated, just officially. Although if that actually makes any sense I’m not sure, and how they can get away with removing any warranty on hardware if you change the software I’m not entirely sure.
SamSam

Cory, you don’t need to root the phone.

Just use PDANet. It’s a real simple set-up, with a small application you put on your laptop. It can even download the software by itself to put on your laptop, in case you don’t have internet when yo choose to start using it.

I’ve been using my Droid as my primary modem when I’m away from the house or office. My commuter train even has internet, but they have crappy AT&T network, and using my Droid as a model beats the hell out of those speeds.

The App is free for a while, and then is free for http connections but not https. So far I’ve used it for months without needing to get the paid version, but if I did need to, I’d spring for it in a second.
Anonymous

Kinda boring look clunky OS IMHO. It may be nice but it’s certainly no iPhone killer. Apple design just p0wns everything else.
agentengram

Look android has its own quirks, but its loveable quirks you can get over like your gothic nerd girlfriend liking FRINGE. I find there are alot more interesting independent, less corporate things based around the android platform like servicetattler.com or dj qbert’s wave twisters available on android, even if iPhone has more apps. I think its because the android market thinks of apps as “publishing” and doesnt try to control what is available like apple does.
Volker

PDAnet requires special software on the computer that you tether to, not available for all OS’es.

Root + wired tether gives you wired tethering without having to install anything on your computer (assuming that it comes with support for networking over USB, anything but WinXP essentially).
Halloween Jack

The phone also has a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, which means you don’t need those bulky adapters to use high-end earbuds.

The iPhone has had a 3.5mm jack since the 3G, and thus needs no adapter. Assuming that that’s the phone they’re referring to (I don’t know any other phone that’s needed one), that’s a pretty glaring mistake for a blog associated with MIT.
- Anonymous
  
  Most Windows Mobile phones, and quite a lot of other phones require adapters.
  Surprisingly as it might seem, there are other smartphones than the iPhone. :)
- flosofl
  
  @Halloween Jack
  
  The G1 on TMobile (which actually the HTC Dream) had a non standard headphone jack. From wikipedia:
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_G1
  
  Audio: In place of a headphone jack, the Dream (like many HTC smartphones) has a mini-USB-compatible ExtUSB jack [25][26] that carries audio signals alongside the regular USB signals, and can be converted with a dongle (now shipped with the phone) to support any standard 3.5 mm headphone.
  
  I’m pretty sure that’s what they were referring to in the review.
crashsystems

With previous Android phones, like the G1, users had to exploit security flaws to gain root and flash a 3rd party build. With the Nexus One, Google has put an unlocking feature right into the bootloader. Simply issue the command “oem unlock” via the fastboot tool, agree to a contract saying you are voiding the warranty, and thats it.

You can find the guide at the link below. It is really a simple process. Once you have Cyanogenmod on there, USB tethering is built in. If you have any questions, stop by #cyanogenmod on freenode, and we’ll be glad to help.

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Full_Update_Guide_-_Nexus_One_Firmware_to_CyanogenMod
calebcharles

I too have been tethering my phone, I just received a notice from T-Mobile: You have exceeded 10 GB in the pay period and your available bandwith may be reduced to 50 Kbs or less per second.
hijukal

I’ve tethered my HTC Hero (GSM) on a Windows XP and Windows 7 machne, it works brilliantly. The drivers came with HTC’s “HTC Sync” software (extract files from the EXE, they’re in there somewhere).

Perhaps the Hero drivers will work for the Nexus One, given they’re both HTC phones. No rooting required (or installation of HTC Sync, despite what HTC might say).

I just wish they’d get around to releasing that 2.1 update for the Hero they’re been promising for months. Or even anything newer than 1.5.
SethL

As was mentioned before, there is no need to root your phone. Go to http://www.junefabrics.com/ and use their software. It actually works better than the tethering software that I used to pay monthly for on my Blackberry and this is using a G-1!
Anonymous

Wow… I’m really quite surprised to read this. I’ve been using a Nexus One for a few weeks now. There are many great things to be said about it, but the interface lacks consistency and there are a number of small and large annoyances that make it, in my mind, so far inferior to the iPhone that it’s hard to take it seriously.

At first, I thought I was just experiencing “it’s not what I’m used to” syndrome, but after spending a considerable period of time with the Nexus One, I feel that I can quite comfortably say that it’s just nowhere near as good of a phone. It has some geek appeal, but even for geeks (I’m a programmer), it’s just not as good unless you enjoy mundane, everyday tasks taking longer than they should.

Yeah, I know the whole walled garden environment of the iPhone doesn’t fit with Cory’s personal worldview, and I sympathize with that, but I’m not an ideologue, and at the end of the day, I want the phone that works the best with the least annoyances.

Things like a home button that’s placed right next to the spacebar that constantly sends me home while I try and type, a lack of hardware-accelerated drawing in the core UI (skippy scrolling on this device with this much processing power is inexcusably bad engineering), and just an overall lack of attention to detail mean that I’m going back to iPhone and keeping the Nexus One as a dev phone and backup.

If you want a nice little side-by-side example of the lack of attention to detail, try setting a couple of alarms in both the iPhone and Nexus One. You can do it much quicker in the iPhone – probably half the time or less. Then, when one of the alarms goes off, if you snooze, you can change your mind on the iPhone and turn off the snoozed alarm. Nexus One? Nope, have to wait for it to go off again.

The multi-touch update helps some, but doesn’t address the most egregious shortcomings of this almost-but-not-quite-good phone.

Sorry to disagree with you on this. Android is certainly better than most Smart Phones in history, but for anyone who has used an iPhone for any length of time, it’s just painful.
jer0me

I hemmed and hawed for weeks before making the decision to purchase my Nexus One. I read a ton of reviews, from every single site that wanted to post one. I watched YouTube user videos, and even read about all the kinks they were working out.

Ultimately, my decision came down to one simple thing. When you plug in the Nexus, you can mount it with a single click, and drag and drop files to and from, as easy as a USB drive. I was sold. Not to be smarmy, but hey Apple, you got an app for that?

Didn’t think so.
- Clif Marsiglio
  
  “Not to be smarmy, but hey Apple, you got an app for that?
  
  Didn’t think so.”
  
  Lots of apps do things similar without the need to even carry a USB cable…you can get several free ones and download them securely through wireless…
  
  I don’t carry cables around with me, so this is actually a good thing to me and has saved me MANY times in the past…
Flaubertine

This seems strange: I’ve been able to tether my HTC Hero to my netbook (running both XP and Ubuntu netbook remix) without having to do anything other than switch ‘Network Sharing’ on under Android’s ‘Wireless Controls’… Are things different on the Nexus 1?
Halloween Jack

Wait, are people telling me that Apple fixed something that the other phones got wrong? I thought that Android was perfect from the start, like unto Athena springing full-grown from the brow of Zeus! [/sarcasm]
Anonymous

If you’re PC runs linux, put the proxoid app on the Nexus One and then follow the instructions here:

http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Productivity-Sauce-Dmitri-s-open-source-blend-of-productive-computing/Tether-an-Android-Phone-Using-Proxoid
anwaya

My Nexus One comes today. I’m excited. I’ll be heading over to the cyanogenmod site some time this weekend.
dculberson

It’s not a big deal, but I was kind of surprised by the reference to a phone purchased in 2008 as “aging.” That’s at most 2 years old, so seems like it should still be fine. Perhaps I’m naive, but I expect phones to last more than two years.
- Steve Stair
  
  My G1 is very definitely “aging”. I may be noticing it more because I’m running CyanogenMod, which has features from 2.0 that push the processor harder than expected.
  
  I’m waiting for someone to make a Nexus One equivalent or faster phone with a physical keyboard, and then I’ll upgrade.